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After six weeks, the Rams defense ranks 14th in DVOA, slightly above average. Coincidentally, the team’s record is 3-3, having won two of their best three performances of the year by defensive DVOA, per Football Outsiders’ premium data.

Most of their success has come on the defensive line, particularly in run defense where they rank seventh in adjusted line yards and first in stuff rate. Only two teams have rushed for over 80 yards against them this season and their defensive tape is peppered with plays like this.

Ethan Westbrooks comes into the B-gap practically unblocked by stunting from the edge, leaving Riley Reiff to block thin air. Josh Forrest beats Corey Robinson with similar ease as Robinson fails in his positioning by angling himself too far to the right. This is because he fails to account for Westbrooks’ stunt. He moves directly toward Westbrooks’ position, but by the time he gets there, it’s too late. By the time he realizes that Forrest is now his responsibility, the play is already over. Because of that one wrinkle in scheme, this is what running back Justin Forsett sees as the ball is handed off.

Luckily for the New York Giants, they aren’t a team that depends on running the ball. When it comes to the passing game, the Rams have seen more struggles.

Their pass rush hasn’t been good enough this year, thanks in part to a litany of injuries including Robert Quinn, but it’s still a threat as long as Aaron Donald is around. Donald has followed up his Hall of Fame-caliber 2015 by posting a 94.8 PFF grade through six weeks, ranking first among interior defenders.

Here, Donald wins with his hands, swatting aside Laken Tomlinson to turn him around, then makes use of a small gap between Tomlinson and Reiff, simply running through it faster than Tomlinson can get there. After Donald has space, it’s all over for Matthew Stafford.

If their pass rush can’t wreak havoc quickly however, things can break down in the secondary. We saw the best example of this last week in Detroit, when the Rams allowed a season-high 311 passing yards, including doozies like this.

The Rams are in zone coverage here and the Lions beat it by flooding one of their zones. T.J. McDonald is responsible for the lower part of the field on the far side, so once Anquan Boldin gets past the 50-yard line, McDonald tries to pass him off to Troy Hill. The only problem with that is Golden Tate is already being covered by Hill, who now has to choose between the two.

By the time McDonald realizes this, Hill has already started to cheat over to Boldin, leaving Tate home free for a 61-yard catch and run. Even though there is a safety deep, he moves over to the other side of the field to help on another go-route, leaving the Rams without help over the top on the side where they need it most. Effectively, they are in Cover-0 on the far-side, a coverage that tends to fail against deep balls.

I’m not really sure what the Rams are supposed to do on this play because what they actually do is so nonsensical I can’t believe they drew it up that way. Nobody is lined up across from Andre Roberts so Lamarcus Joyner comes down to cover him on a route that would have produced a screen pass. The problem with this is that Joyner was lined up across from Anquan Boldin, who now has open space. By the time any defender is within five feet of Boldin, he’s already gained 10 yards.

Los Angeles is in off-coverage here, an odd choice against the Detroit Lions, a team that runs a lot of short passes in Jim Bob Cooter’s system. This play is no exception as Golden Tate runs a slant route and finds himself in oodles of space with blockers on either side. Once again, it feels like the Rams have failed to account for a receiver as two players are lined up in coverage on the offensive left across from three receivers. Even in zone, that coverage is going to get beaten 10 times out of 10.

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The New York Giants can score against this team. If the passing game is functioning at a high level as it was last week, they may even best the season-high in yardage they set against the Baltimore Ravens.

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